Remember when we used to take cold medicine as kids?

Andrew has a constantly dripping nose and a seal-bark cough. My mom got to hear the cough while he talked to her on the phone this weekend. She suggested I give him some Dimetapp.

Oh, if only, I explained. The FDA has said it’s not a good idea to give cold medicines to kids under 4. Apparently, they’re not really effective anyway and they pose a small risk of side effects (though most of the danger comes from kids unknowingly overdosing when they’re unsupervised).

It’s hard to hear your kid be so miserable and not be able to at least feel like you’re doing something to help them. But I’m left to just plug in the humidifier, stock up on tissues and hope he’ll get better soon.

What do you do to help your young kids be more comfortable when they’re sick?